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**Androcles[_8_]**

"Dave Holford" wrote in message
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"Golden California Girls" wrote in message
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Dave Holford wrote:
"Androcles" wrote in message
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wrote in message
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I'm curious, do they have explosive bolts and small motors on this
thing to break it apart before it would ever deorbit? I can see the US
not being able to support it in a few years, and considering what
happened with MIR and that Russian RORSAT, it seems likely that ISS
would dump enough junk when it burns up to be real hazard. In other
words, are there built in provisions for taking out the trash a decade
or so from now?

Steve
How many burn ups have been a real hazard in the past?
If you want to say any flying object is a real hazard, all aircraft are
real hazards. Crossing the road is a real hazard. House fires are a
real hazard. Sinking ferries are a real hazard. Train wrecks are a real
hazard. 70% of the Earth's surface is water, 1.5% is the USA and
most of that is woodland, farmed prairie or desert. I'll take my
chances with the ISS if it serves as a platform to research and
forecast tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural phenomena
that are real hazards, the benefits outweigh the risk.

Skylab dropped some really heavy pieces on Australia but nobody was
hurt.
That and the Cosmos that dropped radioactive debris on northern Canada
are
the only ones I can recall that dropped any really hazardous debris, and
neither one hurt anyone.

You are forgetting a shuttle.

No,
I could be wrong but I don't think the shuttle dropped any chunks the size
of the ones from Skylab. There were some pretty hefty things like titanium
tanks dug out of Australian farms.

But I'm sure some of the regulars here have more accurate data than my
memory.

Columbia burnt up over Texas.
http://fr.truveo.com/NASA-SHUTTLE-CO.../id/1565068977